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Ryan Morrison is the fourth community appointee to the council of the merged Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic.

Dr Morrison is director of operations at Eastbay REAP in Whakatāne and deputy chairman of REAP Aotearoa New Zealand. He has served on university senate and programme approval committees, school boards, iwi trusts, and is a registered capability mentor for NGO governance and operations.

Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Council chairwoman Cathy Cooney said Dr Morrison brought a strong community and learner-centric focus to governance.

"We believe his background in life-long learning and community development will be extremely valuable as our new institution moves forward to provide strong pathways to meaningful employment for all of our region."

"I'm excited to join the WBoPP council at this pivotal time in the history of tertiary education for our region," said Dr Morrison. "I'm looking forward to working with the council and management to help realise those new opportunities and being part of the collective conversation with all stakeholder groups about how we capitalise on our strengths to support our diverse communities."

Collaborative solutions and building capacity are the core of Dr Morrison's professional ethos and he believes change should be achieved through shared values and growth. He is a passionate advocate for the principle of partnership, working alongside tangata whenua and supporting others.